Speaker 1: Dear Rashie Rochelle.
Speaker 2: Rochelle, Dear Rachelle inside the new true crime podcast.
Speaker 3: Now her case is being brought back into the spot
Speaker 3: captivating audiences already. Rachelle Child Chellechelle Child a beautiful and
Speaker 3: vibrant young woman. Her killer has never been brought to justice.
Speaker 3: The new podcast by True Crime Australia. Come a podcast,
Speaker 3: Catch a Killer.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the first update episode of Dear Rochelle. You're
Speaker 2: behind the scenes access to this live podcast investigation. I'm
Speaker 2: your host, Ashley Hanson. In this episode, you'll hear Christy,
Speaker 2: Rachelle's sister rean to the incredible response from listeners and
Speaker 2: share why she was inspired to do this podcast thanks
Speaker 2: to the encouragement of her best friend Mindy.
Speaker 3: Both will be joining us soon.
Speaker 2: Plus you'll hear a breakthrough moment just hours after launch,
Speaker 2: when we are received promising news from New South Wales
Speaker 2: Police about Rochelle's case. But first, let's take you back
Speaker 2: to Friday, the twenty first of March twenty twenty five,
Speaker 2: the day Dear Rochelle went live after a year long investigation.
Speaker 3: Everything had been leading up to this moment.
Speaker 2: This is the first time Christy and I saw each
Speaker 2: other since the podcast launched.
Speaker 3: Hello, how are you?
Speaker 1: How are you?
Speaker 3: How you feeling?
Speaker 4: It's so beautiful.
Speaker 3: He's stunning, isn't she here?
Speaker 4: We listened to her. There are two episodes on the way in. Yeah,
Speaker 4: they're amazing. Okay, it's really really well done.
Speaker 3: She's everywhere.
Speaker 5: That's what she deserves.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, go hard or go home.
Speaker 4: She used to say that to you.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 4: I love it. I mean, you can't get bigger than this. Hey,
Speaker 4: it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2: After feeling forgotten for so many years, How do you
Speaker 2: feel now?
Speaker 3: I was saying this to my family the other day.
Speaker 4: I used to walk past her car in the shed
Speaker 4: and I just had this not here. It just didn't
Speaker 4: sit right that nothing was happening and that I wasn't
Speaker 4: doing anything. And I just always felt kind of powless,
Speaker 4: like I couldn't do anything. And that's gone. Now I
Speaker 4: feel like we're finally doing something for her, and I'm
Speaker 4: just humped, and this is we couldn't have done anything else,
Speaker 4: Like this is the biggest we could possibly have made it,
Speaker 4: and we've done it. I hope that this turns into
Speaker 4: eventually a criminal charge and a conviction. And yeah, and
Speaker 4: to know what happened to her, that's we want to
Speaker 4: know that too. But I just want that person taken
Speaker 4: out of the community.
Speaker 3: You deserve the answers.
Speaker 4: She deserves this too.
Speaker 3: She deserves.
Speaker 5: She deserves this. Yeah, this is just.
Speaker 4: Unbelievable. We're very lucky, very grateful to you. Thanks for
Speaker 4: popping into my dams anytime.
Speaker 3: I'm so proud of you.
Speaker 4: Yeah I did. Oh.
Speaker 2: Within just hours of launching Dear Rochelle, we received a
Speaker 2: case update from New South Wales Police about the latest
Speaker 2: status of Rochelle's cold case. Here's Christie and her Mum's
Speaker 2: reaction as I broke the news to them.
Speaker 3: Big day, very big.
Speaker 2: So I put some questions to the New South Wales
Speaker 2: Police Force about Rochelle's case and we ask them, where
Speaker 2: does her case currently sit?
Speaker 3: What is the status? Are you ready for the answer?
Speaker 3: I think so the matter has.
Speaker 2: Been assessed and he's now in reinvestigation under strike force
Speaker 2: to LAP.
Speaker 4: Oh shit, they've reopened it. Wow, well done. That's unbelievable. Shit,
Speaker 4: So what does that mean? Then?
Speaker 2: They said it's been reinvestigated since January this year and
Speaker 2: the reason they didn't tell you is for operational reasons
Speaker 2: and that is sometimes part of their protocol.
Speaker 6: So they're investigating right now. That's what they said far out.
Speaker 6: How much difference do you think that will make? Well,
Speaker 6: I mean it doesn't matter what we do.
Speaker 4: They have to act and they're on board so early,
Speaker 4: they're already before we even launched.
Speaker 3: Holy shit.
Speaker 4: Is huge.
Speaker 2: The reinvestigation commenced in January twenty twenty five, and in
Speaker 2: New South Wales Police Force standard operating procedures, the family
Speaker 2: are not always immediately notified for operational reasons. To date,
Speaker 2: police are in regular contact with Rochelle's family that have
Speaker 2: not formally been told of the reinvestigation, just that the
Speaker 2: matter was under a current assessment. There will be ongoing
Speaker 2: and future contact with Rochelle's family.
Speaker 4: Don't take a while for that to sink in properly.
Speaker 3: Do you want to call your mom?
Speaker 2: I do?
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's call your mom.
Speaker 4: So Ashley got an email from the police today, Yeah,
Speaker 4: smiling what they've reopened Rochelle's case. Oh yeah yeah, Strikeforce
Speaker 4: Tea Lappy's back in operation. Wow, oh my gosh.
Speaker 5: Yeah that's so good.
Speaker 3: Wow yeah, unbelievable.
Speaker 1: Hoh yes, it's bloody fantastic. Honestly, holy someone's listen.
Speaker 5: Yeah, look a bit.
Speaker 7: To make them do that.
Speaker 1: That's good, deem share done so well, big team. Everything's
Speaker 1: sort of come together because of all of your old important.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah you too, Mum, oh lot, you did lots
Speaker 4: and you let me do it. Let me rip open
Speaker 4: all the let us rip open all of the old
Speaker 4: wounds and.
Speaker 5: Let us do it. Yeah, thanks, ma'am. Here we go again, eh, yep?
Speaker 2: Take two?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Take eight hundred and forty three. See how we
Speaker 4: go with the team that we've got and the reach
Speaker 4: that we've got. I reckon, we'll get somewhere this time.
Speaker 5: Something has, something will come out of it. Much of
Speaker 5: what level, but something.
Speaker 4: I'm really proud of the police for seeing this as
Speaker 4: an opportunity and not seeing it as a criticism.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I'm joined now by Christy, Rochelle's sister and her best friend, Mindy.
Speaker 2: After twelve months, the Dear Rochelle podcast is finally live.
Speaker 3: How are you both feeling pretty pumped about it?
Speaker 5: Pretty excited. Yeah.
Speaker 3: What's the reaction been from your friends and family? I
Speaker 3: think most people have left me alone.
Speaker 4: I think they probably think that we're really busy and
Speaker 4: they don't want to bother me, But yeah, just overwhelming support. Honestly,
Speaker 4: everyone's been Yeah, behind one hundred percent. What about your mum?
Speaker 4: How's Anne doing? Yeah, she's good. She's looking after my
Speaker 4: little one at home while I'm down here. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I think she's tired, but she's I think both of
Speaker 4: our emotions are sort of going up and down. I
Speaker 4: think she's still not really sure what to expect from
Speaker 4: so every time I call her, she's gets a bit
Speaker 4: anxious at me.
Speaker 5: Guess what she's going to say this time.
Speaker 4: But yeah, we're just happy that there's things happening for
Speaker 4: her and we just couldn't be proud of you and
Speaker 4: the team and thankful.
Speaker 3: Well that's a privilege. We've got a couple of tips through.
Speaker 2: Does that make you feel more confident that this could
Speaker 2: be what the case needs for a breakthrough?
Speaker 4: I'm really confident, actually, I mean I always say that
Speaker 4: I'm careful about being hopeful, but I'm confident that we
Speaker 4: are going to find out a lot of things that
Speaker 4: we didn't already know, and we already have.
Speaker 2: What would you say to anyone out there that is
Speaker 2: holding back information and why should they come forward?
Speaker 4: You know we're not going to be angry that you
Speaker 4: haven't come forward before. I understand that. You know, certain
Speaker 4: relationships can prevent you from coming forward, but now is
Speaker 4: the time to do it. And even if you think
Speaker 4: it's insignificant, a potential isn't. So yeah, come and tell
Speaker 4: the people who can figure out whether it is significant
Speaker 4: or not. Every little piece of the puzzle is really
Speaker 4: important because there's still so many holes in the picture
Speaker 4: we're trying to build.
Speaker 2: How much does your best friend Minny's support mean to you,
Speaker 2: especially through this process.
Speaker 4: Oh, it's awesome. She's been driving me around everywhere. We've
Speaker 4: spent more time together in the last week than we
Speaker 4: ever have. And I was just saying that on the
Speaker 4: way here today. It's been really cool having a break
Speaker 4: from our actual real life and getting to hang out
Speaker 4: with her all day every day.
Speaker 3: Yeah, her support is Yeah.
Speaker 4: I'm not a very touchy feely emotional person, but I
Speaker 4: did say it. That's her, So you know, I couldn't
Speaker 4: have done this without you.
Speaker 5: And she goes, yes, you could have, but yeah.
Speaker 3: It wouldn't have been this fun though. No, we got
Speaker 3: a snow.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and she'll try to I'm not going to cry.
Speaker 2: Mindy, what does this podcast mean to you Now it's live,
Speaker 2: I cry.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I've seen a difference in Christie, so she is.
Speaker 3: Definitely lighter. I think watching.
Speaker 7: Christie this week has been probably the worst part for me,
Speaker 7: because she's empowered. She's not quiet about it. We hardly
Speaker 7: spoke about Rachelle for years. I avoided it, didn't want
Speaker 7: to bring up that time. Now it's it's everywhere, you know,
Speaker 7: I can't escape it, and I like it. I like
Speaker 7: watching Christie in that, which is sounds silly, but it's
Speaker 7: nice to see her empowered.
Speaker 5: That's really nice.
Speaker 2: How proud are you to be a part of something
Speaker 2: like this that could potentially lead to a breakthrough in
Speaker 2: the case.
Speaker 4: Yes to big one, I'm proud of you. That'll do
Speaker 4: to sh cry.
Speaker 7: Yeah, there's moments in life that you not so proud
Speaker 7: of and those that you are, and this is probably
Speaker 7: right up there.
Speaker 2: Said you're an incredible support to Christy and we're so
Speaker 2: grateful to have you both key characters in the podcast
Speaker 2: and following this live and we just hope that it
Speaker 2: leads to what Rachelle deserves and your family deserves, and
Speaker 2: that's justice.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: New episodes of Deer Rochelle drop on Fridays, visit Dearrochelle
Speaker 2: dot com.
Speaker 3: A year for more